The Test
by JosephineSilver
Summary: Because Aphrodite can never let things be simple..and because siblings look after each other, even from beyond the grave. Oneshot. Written for the Percy Jackson ships week.


_**So, hi.**_

_**This is a small Piper/Jason ficlet, written for the PJO ships week. I'm doing this couple because, well, it's their ship week.**_

_**Progress of my other stories:**_

_**Shattered Eternity: I'll update within the fortnight.**_

_**Cursed Blood: Next chapter will be up in a day or two.**_

_**Chaotic: Within the week.**_

_**According to Ali, I have to put this in…so, slight trigger warning? Maybe? I'm not entirely sure…**_

_**Dedicated to Solaerius, for her help with the line breaks; Harlequin K, because Darkness Rising is awesomeness (check it out!); and Ali, for my inspiration. This fic was giving me a migraine.**_

_**Without further ado, the story!**_

Sometimes at night, Piper swore she could hear the sounds of sobbing echo throughout her cabin.

When she mentioned it to her siblings, the would change the subject at warp speed, but she always heard the whispers later, when they thought she couldn't hear.

_Silena. It's her._

Hearing that always sent chills down Piper's spine. She remembered what Chiron had told her once, weeks after she had arrived, when she had been commiserating over whether or not Jason wanted her; or this other girl, back at the Roman camp.

'_Whatever his choice, child,_' the centaur had said. '_Do not hold it against him. The inability to let go of love long past is quite often the flaw of a child of Aphrodite – and to their detriment. This could well be your downfall, Piper._'

Piper had taken his words to heart, but as with all things an adult 'told' her to do, she had taken his advice with a grain of salt.

Because Chiron _had_ to be wrong. If you loved someone, you fought for them – you didn't just _give up_.

But she felt she understood slightly better what he had been going on about now. There was a difference between fighting for your loved ones and refusing to move on.

And the ghost of Cabin 10 – whether or not it was Silena Beauregard – definitely fell into that second category.

-X-

At the same time his maybe-girlfriend was considering her ghostly sister's predicament, Jason was in New York, fighting for his life.

The left wing of the monstrous beast – Jason didn't recognise what, exactly, it was, though it looked kind of like an owl – flicked in his direction, smoothly, powerfully; and knocked him from his perch at the top of a small law firm.

And then, he was falling,

falling,

falling,

down,

down,

D  
O  
W  
N

The whole thing happened in about two seconds – too quick for Jason to summon winds to soften his fall. He landed on the ground with a hard _oof_.

A small but strong hand gripped him by the shoulder, pulled him up, and steered him towards the monster. Shaking off the daze that had taken over his vision, Jason raised his sword in a defensive stance and flicked his eyes to the side, to see who had helped him.

Annabeth – of course, she had come into the city with him. He had forgotten.

_They'd been trying to break into Olympus, which was still closed. As architect, she knew more about its defence systems than anyone, except maybe the gods themselves._

"You're an idiot," she said cheerfully. "Of all the monsters to pick a fight with, you manage to find a Strix? Really?"

_Strix_. That sounded familiar.

"Polyphonte's sons – Agrios and Oreios – were cannibals from the ancient days," Annabeth said, her eyes not leaving the monster. "They were punished for their…diet. The gods turned them into birds of ill omen that feed off of human flesh and blood. They were originally giant crows. Poseidon changed them into owls to annoy Athena. Pliny wrote of them."

"Great." Jason gritted his teeth. Why was the thing just _sitting_ there, patient as anything? "Any knowledge on how to kill the damn things?"

"They were warded off with arbutus – known more commonly as madrona these days. They could also be placated with pig's blood."

"Fresh out of those things," he muttered.

Annabeth's eyes widened. "Jason – two blocks back."

"Yeah?"

"There was a butcher's that I know for a fact bleeds their meat."

Jason blinked. "Why?"

"It makes it halal." Seeing Jason's blank look, she continued, "It makes it permissible to eat for people of certain ethnicities."

He chanced a glance at the Strix. "Can we make it?"

Annabeth considered. "I can," she decided. "If you keep it distracted."

As the daughter of Wisdom ran off, and Jason prepared to do battle, he could only think one thought –

_Please let me get back to Piper_.

-X-

"Cedar and sulphur," Lou Ellen nodded sagely. "Some sweetgrass and sage, too."

Piper juggled the items in her arms around uncertainly. "What are all these for, again?"

"In ancient Greek smudging rituals, sulphur was used in the place of certain plants and minerals. It creates a strong connection to the land of the dead. Cedar, to keep the spirit contained in your circle. Sweetgrass, to attract. Sage, to make sure that the spirit you get is not only the one you were summoning in the first place, but harbours no ill will or malicious intent." Lou turned her back to Piper, and reached for a box on the shelf. "Here, you'll need chalk and candles, too."

"To create the circle?" Piper hazarded a guess.

Lou smiled. "Very good." The daughter of Hecate considered the sweetgrass. "You'll need to braid this," she instructed. "With a personal belonging of the ghost you're trying to summon, to create a stronger link."

Piper nodded. "Got it."

"Just come ask if you need help," Lou called out after the love goddess' daughter after she had walked out of the cabin, and across the centre green.

-X-

"_Guardians of the Spirit realm,  
hear and guide my plea.  
Bring my relation, Silena, to me.  
Other souls who hear my call,  
are not welcome in this place.  
Only the one known as Silena may enter sacred space."_

Piper took a deep breath as she spoke the words Lou had taught her. She sat in the centre of a chalk circle, surrounded by flickering candles. The sweet smell of cedar and sweetgrass only just barely made the bitter and acrid scents of sulphur breathable.

"_Silena, I call you._

_Silena, come to me._

_Silena, hear my call,_

_Silena, take heed. _

_Silena, Silena, Silena."_

The candles all flickered in unison as a cold gale blew around the room. When the wicks burnt without fault once again, Piper did not sit alone in the circle.

Blue eyes. Dark hair. Beautiful features on a tearstained face.

_Silena had come._

-X-

"_Duck!_"

Jason, as accustomed to obeying orders as he was to breathing oxygen, didn't even hesitate to throw himself to the ground in response to Annabeth's cry.

Something tepid, slick, and foul-smelling splashed onto the Strix that had been hovering above Jason, attempting to rend his limbs from his body. A great deal of the liquid slid down the bird's front and coated Jason's back.

Bile rose in his throat, but he kept his lunch down. Just barely.

_Never eating pork again_, he promised his churning stomach fervently.

Annabeth sighed as they ran away from the bird, who seemed to have forgotten about them in favour of cleaning its bloody feathers. "I'm sorry mother, but I hate owls," she murmured.

Jason was too distracted to pay much mind to her, though. As people on the bus gave him scared looks and backed away from him and his bloodied visage, he thought about Piper, and how she would react to the blood.

Piper was strong, yes, but she was no Reyna – was no stoic faced Roman. She was expressive to a fault, and valued people's feelings above most else.

And that, Jason realised, was why he liked her so much.

_Maybe_, said a little voice inside his head, _it's why you like her better than you ever did Reyna._

Jason just straightened like he had been hit by his father's master bolt.

_Truthfully, he'd been hit with an epiphany._

-X-

"Hello, Piper," Silena said. Even her voice made Piper want to cry – it was dry and scratchy, as if her throat was swollen from too much crying.

"Silena?" she breathed out.

The weeping ghost nodded.

"Why – why are you here? Why are you not in Elysium with Beckendorf?"

Silena started crying. "This is my penance," she sobbed out. "The gods are punishing me. A hundred years of walking the earth before I can see Charlie again."

Piper was perplexed. "But…why are you here? Why not make the most of your time here? See your family?"

Silena seemed to steel herself. "Oh, I am here for my family, Piper," she said. "I'm here for you."

-X-

"Camp Half Blood," Jason said to the grey sisters.

"Home, sweet home," Annabeth groaned, stretching out her body and rotating her head, working out all the kinks in her neck.

"Hurry up," Jason snapped at the sisters', whom were arguing over the eye.

One eye – Annabeth's, not the sisters' – swivelled in his direction, filled with curiosity. "Are you okay, Jason?"

No. he wasn't. He was shivering and cold an filled with an ominous fear.

_Something was wrong._

"I just have a bad feeling, is all."

-X-

"Here for _me?_ What do you mean?"

Silena seemed to think hard. "Well, you _and_ Jason, I guess."

Piper felt cold. "What about me and Jason?"

"Jason and I," Silena corrected. "And, honey, are you telling me you honestly can't see it?"

"See what?"

"The fact that _there's another girl._"

-X-

"Jason, _calm down,_" Annabeth frowned. "Whatever it is you're worrying about, it's all fine."

"Piper," Jason said. "Something's wrong. Something bad is happening."

-X-

"You're lying."

Silena looked sad. "Why would I lie? I'm just looking after you, sweetie."

Piper shook her head in denial. "No. You. Are. Lying. You have to be."

"Just listen, okay? Hear what I have to say and _learn from it_. Love equals death, whether it be inner or outer. Give your heart to that Roman, and all he will do is crush it."

Piper flushed angrily. "How _dare_ you," she spat. "I called you here because I was _worried_ for you. Because you were my sister and I thought you needed _help_. And now you tell me this –"

Piper fell silent as Silena radiated happiness, and sent a sparkling, dazzling smile in her direction. "Well done, little sister," she whispered. "You passed the test."

She eyed Piper further, scrutinising her from head to toe. "Now, you just hope that _he_ can pass, too."

With that, the candles blew out, and Silena was gone.

-X-

Annabeth was panting, struggling to keep up with the son of Jupiter as he raced up the hill.

"Jason," she gasped out. "Wait up. Whatever it is, can wait just a second."

Jason paid her no heed, and simply continued into camp, his heart beating against his ribs.

"Piper!" he bellowed out once he reached the centre green.

The reply came from behind him. "Jason?"

Jason whirled. Standing in the doorway of cabin ten, a slightly bewildered smile on her face, was the most amazing girl in the world, Piper Mclean.

He ran at her, and pulled her into a hug, nearly crushing her to death as he pulled her to him tightly, trying to convince his racing heart that she was okay; that she was here and breathing and okay.

He turned his head slightly to the side, so that his lips brushed against her ear.

Piper shivered.

"I was so worried," he spoke in a low voice. "So, so worried. Never do that to me again."

-X-

Piper could only relax, bemused, into Jason's arms as he whispered in her ear and ran his hands up and down her back, as if reassuring himself that she was solid and real.

"What's wrong, Jase?" she asked. "What happened to you today?"

Jason pulled back from her, startled. "Me? What about me?"

Piper's lips parted, confused. "Well, aren't you hugging me because you nearly died today?"

A laugh escaped his lips. "No – well, I did almost die today, but that's not why I'm hugging you. I'm doing it because I was _worried_ about _you_."

"_Me?_ Why?"

"Because you've been on my mind all day…and I've just had a bad feeling."

A trilling laugh, and a voice spoke in her mind.

_Oh, yes, he's passed the test, dear._

Piper smiled, and sank deeper into the embrace.

And then pulled back, frowning. "Um, why do you smell like a butcher's store?"

Jason smiled sheepishly.

_fin _


End file.
